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For Researchers and Students

One of the roles of the North American Quitline Consortium is to facilitate interactions and relationships between researchers and tobacco cessation quitlines in the U.S. and Canada. We encourage researchers to become members of NAQC, so they may be eligible for one-on-one membership services such as:

providing letters of support for research studies

identifying quitlines that might be suitable for participation in research projects (members preferred)

assistance with recruitment of quitlines for research studies (members preferred)

technical assistance for basic quitline information

provision of publicly-available data from the NAQC Annual Survey of quitlines

provision of Annual Survey data that is not publicly available (members only)

For these and other services, or for questions
about NAQC’s research-related activities, contact naqc@naquitline.org, or 800-398-5489.

Non-members may be eligible for minimal assistance, as time and resources allow.

Ms. Rudie serves as the lead research and evaluation staff within NAQC. She is responsible for overseeing NAQC’s research and evaluation portfolio (including the annual survey of quitlines, minimal data set, evaluation of our CDC cooperative agreement and literature reviews on best practices)and enhancing activities in this area. Ms. Rudie is a public health professional with over 12 years of experience in tobacco control and cessation.

Dr. Saul is engaged in several research-related
activities for NAQC including a collaboration with the University of South
Carolina to develop a quitline registry for reengaging quitline clients in quit
attempts and the Knowledge Integration in Quitlines: Networks that Improve
Cessation (KIQNIC) project to better understand the communication mechanisms by
which quitlines interact, share new evidence, and make decisions about the
adoption and implementation of quitline. Prior experience includes senior research
program manager, ClearWay Minnesota, where she conducted research and
evaluationand oversaw evaluation of the QUITPLAN cessation programs. She holds
a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and a doctoral degree in Science &
Technology Studiesfrom Cornell University.

The Minimal Data Set (MDS)The Minimal Data Set (or "MDS”) is a standardized set of intake and follow-up questions asked by all publicly funded quitlines in North America. It was created to facilitate data collection and comparisons across quitlines, and make it easier to answer questions critical to improving quitline practices, yet are impossible to answer by a single quitline. The MDS offers a standard approach to evaluating tobacco cessation quitlines. It facilitates performance monitoring, makes learning from other quitlines and comparisons between quitlines possible and does not impose undue resource burdens on quitlines. It helps to inform quitline operations, facilitate comparative evaluation studies and enhance research opportunities. The MDS Intake and Follow-up question sets and related documentation are available here.
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Since 2004, each year NAQC conducts a survey of quitlines in North America. The information collected in the survey advances our understanding of quitline operations and services. By sharing information about quitline financing, counseling interventions, medication provision, utilization, staffing and evaluation, quitlines contribute greatly to the field. Aggregate results are shared with the quitline community and partners and help achieve NAQC’s mission of promoting evidence based quitline services across diverse communities in North America.

For information about each year’s survey, including survey instruments and results, click here.

NAQC also seeks to make survey data available to researchers and students to advance knowledge about cessation through secondary data analysis, graduate student projects, etc. Researchers or students requesting data must be members of NAQC. To view the protocol for requesting NAQC survey data, or for a list of approved requests, please click here.
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NAQC is in the process of finalizing a Research Agenda for Quitlines. The purpose of the research agenda is:

1. To provide criteria for developing and managing internally generated research (within the network) as well as external requests for network participation

2. To develop a balanced research portfolio that meets the needs of the various stakeholder groups

3. To leverage use of the Minimal Data Set

The draft research agenda is availablehereand will be updated as feedback is received from members. To provide
feedback on the research agenda, please complete a short surveyor email naqc@naquitline.org.

The webinar presenting the draft agenda took place on April 19, 2012. You can download related materials using the links below:

NAQC has developed a Guide for conducting Quitline Research. The purpose of this Guide is to expedite the relationship-development process between quitlines and researchers, and to assure that issues likely to arise within the context of conducting research studies are anticipated by all parties. To engage in studies with quitlines, researchers, quitline funders and quitline service providers will need to develop both an understanding of the context in which each works as well as working relationships that may anticipate and address issues likely to arise. This Guide is geared towards all parties associated with quitlines such as funders, service providers, and evaluators, as well as researchers who currently work with or are interested in working with quitlines. It aims to educate the quitline community about the research process and practices, and to educate researchers about the complex nature of quitlines. To view the Guide and related documents, click here.

Additional resources have been created to serve as companion pieces to this
Guide. These resources are provided below:

Appendix
Aprovides a glossary of terms often used by researchers
and/or quitlines.

Appendix
Bincludes sample text and paragraphs that were gathered from
existing quitline data use agreements and contracts. It was developed to provide
additional assistance with quitline research.

A
one-page checklist, The Basics for Quitlines: Questions to
Ask of Researchers who Request Data, was developed as a guide for quitlines
when they are asked to provide quitline data. The checklist is intended as a
guide for initiating and continuing discussions with researchers who are
interested in quitline data. This one-page checklist is also included in
Section III.

NAQC offers organizational and individual memberships to individuals and organizations who are committed to and play a significant role in supporting quitlines and other tobacco cessation efforts and activities. NAQC provides members with access to top-notch training and technical assistance, informative communications, quality standards and benchmarking data, a voice in moving quitlines forward through voting rights and participation in working groups and more.

timely updates on important funding opportunities and events in the quitline community

member-only sections of the NAQC Web site

in-depth reports, case studies, and issue papers

According to NAQC members, key benefits of membership include the opportunity to network with colleagues, share experiences, and learn from others in the field. NAQC continues to enhance membership benefits based on member needs.

Subscribe to receive a copy of the monthly issue of Connections and stay current on important information about tobacco control, research, and upcoming events in the quitline community.

Visit the research section of the NAQC Newsroom on a regular basis for research announcements, articles, and funding opportunities.

Participate in selected NAQC webinar calls on a fee-for-service basis. Considering recent national policy initiatives in Canada and the U.S., the focus of the2011/2012 NAQC Seminar Series will be topics related to preparing for implementation of graphic health warning labels, working with Medicaid to ensure access to cessation and building public-private partnerships.

Attend in-person NAQC Conferences. NAQC Conference
2012, QUITLINE INNOVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY: Exploring Strategies and Seizing
Opportunities in Challenging Times, was the last conference that took place
on August 13th and 14th as an ancillary meeting to the National Conference on
Tobacco or Health.